After their evacuation from the burned areas, the French tourists reflect on the continuation of their stay in Greece. The country remains engulfed in a heat wave on Tuesday, with high temperatures expected to hit 44°C, as flames continue to ravage parts of the resort islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Euboea, near Athens. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned yesterday that Greece still has three difficult days ahead on the fire front.
An unprecedented evacuation operation of some 30,000 tourists and residents took place in Rhodes this weekend, followed by another on the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. Therefore, there are several thousand French travelers who are wondering about the continuation of their stay there and the possibilities of postponement or even refund, just like those who have planned to fly to Greece in August. BFM Business reviews the different scenarios and options available to clients.
How is the diversion done in France?
Travelers who wish to return to France as soon as possible can contact their travel agency, if they have arranged their stay with this intermediary, or directly with their airline if not.
While waiting for this return flight, tourists can benefit from free meals, two phone calls or sending necessary emails, as well as accommodation if the flight takes place only the next day.
Since yesterday, Air France has “increased the capacity of its planes leaving Rhodes for France”, as announced by the French Embassy in Greece. For its part, the low-cost company Transavia told the figaro “offer passengers who have a ticket to Rhodes between July 24 and 31 to change their ticket for free to Rhodes or another destination” when it is normally a payment option.
Regarding accommodation, the CEC explains that “it is possible to request a refund of the nights that have not been used, but be careful to keep all the supporting documents that show that the stay in the place was not complete.” On the other hand, if the traveler still wants to stay in Greece but goes to another region of the country, this initiative is at his own expense.
Package tourists at an advantage over individual travelers?
Travelers who have gone through a travel agency benefit from a particularly protective framework, since the agency takes care of emergency expenses, including flights, and the management of refunds. Tour operator leader TUI has suspended its clients’ route to Rhodes until Friday, a stance taken by its competitors in France, while the planes have, however, left empty to facilitate the evacuation of their clients currently there. In case of flight cancellation, Bercy reminds that the client must be offered a refund in money or have it from the company.
In addition, “if a travel agency cancels a combined trip, it must cancel the reservation contract and refund all payments made by the client within a period of 14 days,” indicates the Ministry of Economy. asked by le figaro, the general secretary of Travel Companies Valérie Boned foresees “great flexibility” on the part of the agencies that could “offer postponements of trips or destinations”. This is precisely what the German group TUI allows its vacationers:
Individual travelers find themselves in a slightly more vague situation, which is managed on a case-by-case basis depending on the insurance or cancellation guarantees they have signed… or not. First, all emergency changes are covered in case of force majeure events, such as a fire evacuation like in Rhodes. Otherwise, the traveler generally must wait for the decision to cancel a flight or evacuate a hotel to come from the operator if he does not want to bear the financial cost of a cancellation that he would decide himself.
What happens if future travelers want to cancel their stay in advance?
In this case, there is also a dichotomy between package tourists and individual travelers. According to the European Consumer Center, the former can “obtain a full refund of the trip given the exceptional circumstances at the destination” if they have not yet left.
In fact, article 12 of the European directive on package tours and linked travel plans stipulates that “the traveler has the right to terminate the package tour contract before the start of the package trip without paying the termination costs if exceptional and unavoidable circumstances, occurring at or near the destination, have significant consequences on the execution of the package or on the transportation of passengers to the destination.”
The situation is more problematic for individual travelers who would take the initiative. If the airline has not canceled the flight and the customer has not paid for a dedicated option at the time of purchase, the airline ticket is non-refundable for the holder, who will only be entitled to a refund of airport taxes.
Regarding the accommodation, the possibility of reimbursement is based on the reservation conditions and, in this case, also on the options that have been previously contracted. “If the cancellation policy explains that the rental is non-refundable, it will not be possible to obtain it, remember the CEC to Ouest-France. In this situation, the best thing to do is try to contact the host to try to get a postponement of the stay.”
Source: BFM TV
